Lei Zhou

Professor of Finance

Department

Finance

Education

Ph.D., University of Florida, Finance, 1997-2002
M.S., Purdue University, Ag. Economics, 1995-1997
M.B.A., University of Alabama, Business, 1993-1995
B.A., Suzhou University, International Trade, 1987-1991

Teaching Areas

Corporate Finance
Investment
Fixed Income Securities
Security Analysis

Research Areas

Fixed Income Securities
Credit Risk
Mutual Funds
Investment

Work Experience

Professor, Northern Illinois University, 2017-Present
Visiting Scholar, US Securities and Exchange Commission, August 2017-July 2018
Jones, Diedrich, Mennie Professor, Northern Illinois University, 2015-Present
Associate Professor, Northern Illinois University, 2011-2017
Assistant Professor, Northern Illinois University, 2005-2011
Assistant Professor, Miami University, 2002-2005
Instructor, University of Florida, 2001-2002

Professional Certifications

Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA, 2011-2019
Professional Risk Manager, PRM, 2015-Present

Publications

Are Investor-paid Credit Ratings Superior?, co-authored with Nan Qin. Financial Management, Forthcoming
Regulation of the US Credit Rating Industry and Regulatory Data Disclosure, co-authored with J. Lu and G. Nicolosi. Law and Financial Market Review, 2023.
Do Bond Investors Know Better than Credit Rating Agencies?, co-authored with M. Livingston and Y. Zheng. Journal of Fixed Income, 2023.
China’s No-bailout Reform: Impact on Bond Yields and Rating Standards, co-authored with G. Mo and Z. Gao, Journal of Banking and Finance, 2021.
A Bird-eye’s View of the US Credit Rating Industry, co-authored with M. Livingston and G. Nicolosi, Journal of Fixed Income, 2021.
Credit Ratings and Rating Agencies, co-authored with M. Livingston, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, 2020.
The Decline in Idiosyncratic Values of US Treasury Securities, co-authored with M. Livingston and Y. Wu, Journal of Banking and Finance, 2019.
The Volatility of Mutual Fund Performance, co-authored with M. Livingston and P. Yao. Journal of Economics and Business, 2019
Are Chinese Credit Ratings Relevant? A Study on the Chinese Bond and Credit Rating Markets, co-authored with W. Poon and M. Livingston, Journal of Banking and Finance, 2018
Information Opacity and Fitch Rating, co-authored with M. Livingston, Journal of Financial Research, 2016 (lead article) - Outstanding Article Award by the Journal of Financial Research
Brokerage Commissions and Mutual Fund Performance, co-authored with M. Livingston, Journal of Financial Research, 2015 (lead article) - Semi-finalist for the Best Paper in Investment at the 2014 FMA conference.
A Long-Term Perspective on the Determinants of Treasury Bond Stripping Levels, co-authored with M. Bulter and M. Livingston, Financial Markets, Institutions, and Instruments, 2014
The Value of “Boutique” Financial Advisors in Mergers and Acquisitions, co-authored with W. Song and D. Wei, Journal of Corporate Finance, 2013
Moody’s and S&P Ratings: Are They Equivalent?, co-authored with M. Livingston and D. Wei, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 2010
Callable Bonds Revisited, co-authored with J. Banko, Financial Management, Summer, 2010
Split Bond Ratings and Information Opacity Premium, co-authored with M. Livingston, Financial Management, Summer, 2010
Split Bond Ratings and Rating Migration, co-authored with M. Livingston and A. Naranjo, Journal of Banking and Finance, August, 2008
Asset Opaqueness and Split Bond Ratings, co-authored with M. Livingston, A. Naranjo, Financial Management, Autumn, 2007
Exponential Duration: A More Accurate Measure of Interest Rate Risk, co-authored with M. Livingston, Journal of Financial Research, Fall, 2005
The Impact of Rule 144A Debt Offerings upon Bond Yields and Underwriter Fees, co-authored with M. Livingston, Financial Management, Winter, 2002 (lead article)
A Proposal for Quoting Money Market Rates, co-authored with M. Livingston, Financial Analysts Journal 58, 2002

Working Papers

Rating Inflation, Accuracy, Reputation and Competition: An Examination of RMBS Ratings, co-authored with Gina Nicolosi and Nan Qin.

Invited Presentations

CFA Society New York’s 31st Annual High Yield Bond Conference, 2021
Suzhou University, 2019
Shanghai University, 2019
US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2017
Anhui University of Finance and Economics, 2016, 2019
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 2016, 2019
University of Tulsa, 2014
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, 2009

Professional Services

Member of Financial Management Association
Ad hoc referee for Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Financial Management, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Corporate Finance, Economic Letters, Journal of Empirical Finance, Financial Review, Journal of Financial Research, Pacific Basin Journal of Finance, and European Journal of Finance